Leadership Lake Tahoe graduates 18 future leaders

Provided to the TribuneThis year's graduating class of Leadership Lake Tahoe, a a program of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, included 18 graduates.

Leadership Lake Tahoe, a program of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, began in 2003 with a mission of identifying and developing current and future leaders through a comprehensive program designed to increase knowledge and awareness of the issues and challenges facing our community.

The program is an intensive 10-month experience to provide information, strategies, contacts and opportunities for personal and professional growth. The application process for Leadership Lake Tahoe is competitive and participants are selected on their demonstrated concern for, and interest in, our community.

Program topics covered key leadership issues and skills, and included leadership orientation, public safety, economic development/redevelopment, local, regional and state government, media/communication, environment/transportation, healthcare, social services/community resources, education and tourism.

A part of the Leadership Lake Tahoe program was participating in a group project which expanded the participants’ experience and skills in dealing with group dynamics and further developed their personal leadership and management skills. The class was randomly divided into four groups, each of which created a new and unique project.

This year’s projects were:

– Light Up Lake Tahoe, which encouraged businesses along the Highway 50 corridor from the “Y” to Stateline to display holiday lights. The group partnered with local nonprofit Tahoe Turning Point and will continue the project in the 2010 holiday season.

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– Ask Me! Lake Tahoe Customer Service Workshop, a Tahoe-specific training to create “magical moments” for guests/visitors, make work fun and the “Fish Philosophy.” More than 55 attendees spanning across 10 different businesses and a variety of specialties were in attendance.

– Community Graffiti Clean-up Day, held on May 1 with a group of more than 60 volunteers who cleaned up and removed graffiti from more than 65 locations in South Lake Tahoe. The team partnered with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department and many local businesses for supplies and volunteers.

– Re-useable Water Bottle Distribution/Recyclable Waste Reduction; to combat excess trash on sports fields and crowded landfills caused by plastic bottles, the group teamed up with community partners to provide 1,000 reusable water bottles to local youth athletes. The bottles will feature the Recycle Tahoe logo and partner logos to remind everyone of the importance of reducing the use of non-recyclable materials and to encourage drinking local tap water.

The chamber would also like to thank the Leadership Lake Tahoe Task Force: Linda VanDam, Monica Sciuto, Alissa Nourse, Pam Wheeler and Paula Peterson, as well as sponsors Heavenly, Edward Jones, Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Chocolate Factory.